Chapter 6
fine. I have plenty of time to get to everyone. No problem at all.
And Foo Fighters have come on the radio now. Who doesn’t love a bit of Foo Fighters, eh?
I flick the volume up, and sing along to ‘Learn To Fly’ as the hedgerows pass by on either side of the car.
Everything really is okay.
Unfortunately, I can’t help but let the mild feeling of panic creep back into my head by the time Dave Grohl gets to the second verse of the song.
I’ve stopped singing, and am once more clenching my teeth hard as I look repeatedly at my satnav screen telling me how much time I have to get to Zenith Games.
Foo Fighters come to the end of their song, to be immediately replaced by the Black Eyed Peas.
Okay, so this is a very silly song indeed, but I force myself to sing along with it, in an attempt to ignore the voice of panic, and to stop my teeth clenching quite so hard.
My phone then starts to ring again . . . and it’s Maurice once more.
Blimey, he’s being very insistent.
But I’m not going to answer it. I’m just going to sing along to this very silly song, and—
Everything explodes.
I am thrust violently forward in my seat as the car’s momentum is arrested by something very hard and very solid.
There’s not much of the next few seconds I can truly grasp, but it involves a cacophony of breaking glass and crumpling metal, the hideous sensation of skidding, uncontrolled movement and the world outside rushing by me in a blur of blue and green.
I think I scream. I can’t be 100 per cent sure, but my throat will be hoarse later that evening, so I think I do.
As fast as the whirlwind begins, it is over again.
The car comes to a rest askew on the road, and with my heart pounding out of my chest, I look out of the driver’s side window to see that almost perfectly opposite me is another car.
It’s a black hatchback with red trim along its now crumpled side panels.
Inside the car is the very shocked face of a teenage boy.
I can see blood starting to well up from a small cut on his forehead.
Christ. He hit me.
Not that fast, otherwise we’d both be in a lot more trouble than we are. But the little sod definitely hit me.
There’s no way I’m making the bloody meeting with Zenith Games now!
. . . calm down. You’ve been in a car accident. I doubt anyone’s going to be angry at you.
Why, thank you for turning up, voice of reason. Nice to have you along.
My hand shakes violently as I press the window button, fully expecting it not to work.
But it does. Whatever damage has been done to my stupid MG does not extend to the driver’s side door.
‘Are you okay?’ I shout to the teenager as the window fully winds itself down.
His window is smashed, so he hears me just fine. ‘Yeah, I think so,’ he says, blinking a few times.
‘Alright . . . just don’t get out of the car,’ I tell him. ‘It might not be safe.’
And indeed, when I look out of my cracked windscreen, I can see several vehicles coming to a swift halt ahead on the road.
Best to just stay inside our cars until things calm down a bit.
‘I’m calling the police,’ I tell the kid – who looks horrified by this for a moment, but then nods.
There are tears in his eyes. If he’s anything more than eighteen I’d be amazed.
His insurance premium is going to rocket into the stratosphere after this.
Hell, mine will too, if there’s no way to prove whose fault it was.
But whose fault was it?
I don’t think I was distracted. I think I was concentrating on the road okay. But this road is pretty damned narrow . . .
Who knows?
That’s for another time. Right now, though, my call has connected, so I flick the bloody Black Eyed Peas off the radio, and give the emergency operator the details of the crash, including our exact location, thanks to Google Maps.
By the time this call is over, I can feel that my heart rate has returned to more or less baseline. I’m quite impressed by this. I’ve never been caught in an emergency like this before, and I have to say I’m pleased with the way I’ve reacted to it.
I even manage to fire the MG back into life, and steer it slowly and very awkwardly into the conveniently placed lay-by at the side of the road, in order to try and free the road up for other users.
But even though I create a big enough gap between me and the teenager, nobody decides to try to squeeze through.
Odd.
But then people can be funny when these kinds of accidents happen. Best not judge them too harshly for not wanting to try and pick their way through it. Punctures from all the broken glass are a distinct possibility.
Unbelievably, an ambulance arrives a mere couple of minutes later!
I’m amazed.
They must have been in the area anyway, to get here so fast. I don’t think they’re going to be needed much beyond dressing the kid’s cut, and checking us both over, but it’s gratifying to see them arrive so quickly.
But do I even need checking over?
Probably time to get out of the car and find out . . .
. . .
Nope. I’m fine. Totally fine.
My neck feels a tiny bit stiff, but other than that, I have come through this accident unscathed. Thank God for that.
My car is another story. That’s a definite write-off. As is the teenager’s. He’s out of his car too now and surveying the wreckage. He looks a lot more distraught than I do, poor kid.
The paramedics are now trotting over to us both, right at the moment I also hear a police car pull up behind me.
Well, that really is a level of service I never would have expected to get in these difficult, underfunded times for our emergency services.
Not going to complain, though. Hopefully someone can give me a lift home.
Thinking about what I’m going to do next reminds me of how many appointments I’m now going to miss today.
Best get on the phone as soon as I am able, to let everyone know what’s happened, and that I’ll have to reschedule with them.
Should I call Annie as well? Would she want to know?
No. I don’t want to worry her. This whole damned thing could have been a lot worse, and I don’t want to spoil her day, especially as it’s an important one for her. The last thing I’d want to do is make her anxious right before she goes on stage.
And after all, the accident could have been a lot worse.
But it wasn’t.
And what would Annie think of me if I interrupted her big day, whining about a teeny car crash?
I bet she’d be doubting her choice to start dating me.
No. No need to call her. It was nothing.
It’s not fair on her, just before the show.
It was absolutely nothing.
And I’ve come out of it totally